Tsuna hadn't expected Urahara to jump in and try to poach him.
A mischievous thought rose in Tsuna's heart, and with a smile he asked Urahara,
"Shopkeeper, which do you think is stronger—the power of a Soul Reaper, or that of a Quincy?"
"Oh my, now that is a question…" Urahara raised his folding fan in front of his face and replied in his usual theatrical tone. "Both Soul Reapers and Quincy are legacies passed down for a thousand years. The two sides have clashed before. Soul Society still possesses a complete Soul Reaper legacy, while the Quincy, after this Auswählen…"
"…only the Ishida family still has a complete line of legacy, and the only true Quincy left is Mr. Ryūken Ishida."
Urahara never directly stated which side was stronger or weaker.
He simply laid out the facts for Tsuna:
for the past thousand years, the Soul Reapers had always held the upper hand over the Quincy.
"In terms of combat techniques," Urahara continued, "Soul Reapers excel in Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō, while Quincy fighting styles revolve more around the Heilig Pfeil, branching from that core into a whole combat system based on using spirit bows and arrows to destroy enemies."
"And among Soul Reapers, swordsmanship centered around the Zanpakutō has even more room for variation. Every Soul Reaper possesses a Zanpakutō unique to themselves, and from that they can develop a highly individual Shikai and Bankai for battle."
"Quincy combat, on the other hand, is more fixed. They're more proficient at using various tools and equipment in battle, often producing unexpected results."
"As for whether you choose Quincy or Soul Reaper, that depends on you, Mr. Tsunayoshi."
Most of Urahara's face remained hidden behind the folding fan, with only his narrow eyes visible.
What he meant was clear enough:
Soul Reaper power allowed for greater expression of individual traits, while Quincy training followed a more inherited, established path.
If Tsuna wanted to draw out his own unique potential to the fullest, then Soul Reaper powers were likely the better choice.
Ryūken, for his part, did not refute a word of that.
He never liked being a Quincy to begin with. If not for the enormous debt he owed Tsuna, there was no way he would ever have agreed to teach him Quincy techniques.
Of course, Tsuna understood exactly what Urahara was implying.
But he had already made up his mind.
If he missed a chance like Ryūken Ishida, he might never get another.
On the Soul Reaper side, however, he had alternatives—Urahara and Isshin were both potential options later.
"Shopkeeper Urahara, thank you for the offer," Tsuna said with an easy laugh. "But I'd like to first try training as a Quincy with Uncle Ryūken. If I really don't have the aptitude for it, then I can come back to you later."
"I respect your choice, Mr. Tsunayoshi." Urahara snapped his fan shut with a smile. "Urahara Shop will always welcome you. I suspect there will still be business for us to discuss."
Ryūken called an ambulance from his hospital and had the two post-surgery patients transported back to the Ishida residence. As for Tsuna's training, it was temporarily postponed.
They would begin teaching him once the weather cleared.
---
Two days later, on a bright sunny day, Tsuna rang the doorbell at the Ishida residence.
The one who opened the door was someone he had met once before—
Uryū Ishida.
"Can I help you?" Uryū asked timidly.
There was no trace of the earlier despondency on his face now. His mother, Kanae, was gradually recovering, and Uryū had been staying by her side throughout the holiday.
"I'm here to see Uncle Ryūken," Tsuna said openly. "We made arrangements. He's going to teach me how to train as a Quincy."
Tsuna spoke frankly because there was no point hiding it. He would be coming to the Ishida household often from now on anyway.
But those words instantly struck a nerve in Uryū.
He knew very well that his father hated the Quincy.
He himself had once wanted Ryūken to teach him Quincy techniques—
and had only received a harsh refusal.
It could be said that Ryūken had never taught Uryū a single thing about being a Quincy.
So why was he now willing to teach an outsider?
Uryū's small head filled with confusion.
"I'll take you to him," he said at last.
Under Uryū's guidance, Tsuna once again entered Ryūken's bedroom.
Ryūken was feeding Kanae her medicine. When she saw Tsuna arrive, Kanae smiled and waved to him.
"Aunt Kanae, how are you feeling?" Tsuna asked.
"Thanks to you, little Tsuna, much better," Kanae replied. "Ryūken says I should be able to get out of bed in another few days."
While Tsuna and Kanae exchanged greetings, Uryū reported Tsuna's arrival to Ryūken.
"Father, he says he's here to learn how to become a Quincy."
"I know. You may leave," Ryūken replied in that same cold tone of his.
"Father!"
For the first time, Uryū summoned the courage to raise his voice.
Then he immediately shrank a little again, his tone turning hesitant.
"Could I… learn too? I'll work hard!"
For the first time, Ryūken truly looked at him.
After staring at Uryū for a long moment, he said:
"You do not have the capacity."
"Then why does he get to?" Uryū demanded, pointing at Tsuna. "He's an outsider! Does he have the talent, then?"
"Whether he does or not is still unknown. There is no need for you to waste your time on something like being a Quincy," Ryūken said, his tone growing harsher. "You may do anything you're interested in—except become a Quincy."
"Why not?! I am interested in being a Quincy!" Uryū shouted back, finding courage from somewhere he himself didn't understand.
"From the time I was little, you've never once looked at me properly! Only Grandfather was willing to teach me!"
Ryūken's expression shifted slightly.
Uryū pressed on, voice trembling with emotion.
"Grandfather was killed by those monsters! Have you never once thought about avenging him? If you won't do it, then I will! I'll become a Quincy and kill every last one of those monsters!"
His eyes had gone red.
In Uryū's memory, his grandfather had died surrounded by Hollows.
And if he had possessed power back then—
maybe he could have saved the man who had always been kind to him.
What Uryū couldn't see was the faint flicker in Ryūken's gaze.
It was impossible for him to feel nothing about his father's death.
But the one who had killed his father was a Hollow.
And Hollows were not something one could ever truly wipe out.
Still, for the first time, Ryūken realized just how deeply Sōken Ishida's death had affected Uryū.
Even so, he still did not want Uryū to walk the path of a Quincy—
whether because of his own distaste for the Quincy, or because of the Auswählen that had only just occurred.
"Alright, Uncle," Tsuna cut in at just the right moment. "Teaching one is teaching. Teaching two is teaching too. You may as well bring Uryū along."
Then he turned to Uryū and said,
"Let me properly introduce myself. I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. Looks like we'll be classmates from here on out."
"Hello, I'm Ishida Uryū," Uryū replied quickly, clasping Tsuna's hand.
"But—"
Ryūken had barely started to object when Tsuna continued.
"Uryū, you've already started Quincy training, haven't you? Can you show me what you've learned?"
"Of course," Uryū said confidently.
He concentrated with all his might, controlling every bit of Reishi he could currently command.
Gradually, a long arrow took shape—
a spirit arrow used by Quincy in battle.
The sight shook Ryūken.
He had been opposed to Uryū training largely because of the danger posed by Auswählen. But now, Tsuna's prompting had completely overturned that concern.
In Ryūken's mind, Uryū was also a mixed-blood Quincy. The reason he had escaped Auswählen, Ryūken had assumed, was because he possessed no Quincy power at all.
Yet what he was seeing now proved otherwise.
Even if it was only rudimentary, Uryū was clearly already capable of forming a Reishi arrow.
That meant he did possess Quincy power.
So why had a mixed-blood Quincy who had already begun awakening Quincy power still escaped the Quincy king's Auswählen?
Ryūken fixed Tsuna with a questioning stare.
Tsuna, however, acted as if he didn't notice and instead turned to Kanae on the bed.
"Aunt Kanae, Uryū's growing up. He needs power to protect himself too, doesn't he? Let him train with me."
Kanae understood perfectly well what was in Ryūken's eyes.
She could also see that Ryūken was already wavering.
So she offered him an easy way out.
"Ryūken, let Uryū learn with him."
"…Fine," Ryūken said at last. "But if you cannot keep up, then you will give up."
"Yes, Father! I'll definitely work hard!" Uryū said excitedly.
This was the first time his father had openly allowed him to train as a Quincy.
He was overflowing with motivation.
...
On the wooded hill behind the Ishida estate, Ryūken designated the area as their temporary training ground.
He took two shortbows from his bag and handed one each to Tsuna and Uryū.
"You both know that the Quincy's primary combat ability is archery," Ryūken said. "Before learning Heilig Pfeil, you must first master the use of an ordinary bow."
He gestured toward the trees.
"Use these. Pick any tree as a target and show me what you can do."
Uryū gripped the bow with excitement.
He had been trained by his grandfather Sōken since childhood, and a low-power shortbow like this was something he already knew how to use.
He drew three arrows.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
All three struck the same tree, arranged in a triangle—a clear display of Uryū's current proficiency with the bow.
But before Uryū could feel proud, three more arrows suddenly planted themselves beside his—
perfectly.
It was Tsuna.
After Uryū fired, Tsuna had immediately loosed his own arrows. The spacing between his arrows matched Uryū's with exact precision.
"Uncle Ryūken, I already have the basics of archery down too," Tsuna said. "Let's move on to the real lesson."
Thanks to G's Bow, Tsuna had long since mastered the fundamentals of shooting.
"Very well."
Ryūken wasted no words.
"The most fundamental power of a Quincy is control over Reishi. By controlling Reishi, one forms different combat techniques. Among them, Heilig Pfeil is the art of firing Reishi arrows, and Hirenkyaku is the corresponding advanced movement technique…"
"In short, if you want to learn Quincy abilities, everything begins with Reishi control."
"You can both already sense the existence of Reishi. Follow what I do."
Ryūken had no intention of teaching Tsuna and Uryū step by painstaking step.
Instead, he simply demonstrated fine Reishi-control exercises and let them imitate him.
If they failed to keep up, all the better—
it would give him an excuse to end this Quincy training he disliked so much.
And so, Tsuna spent his entire summer break immersed in the Ishida household.
Ryūken trained both him and Uryū by having them condense Reishi into increasingly intricate patterns, using those exercises to sharpen their control.
Each day, they were required to complete one pattern's worth of training.
If they failed, Ryūken would immediately end that day's lesson.
Under his instruction, Tsuna and Uryū improved rapidly.
Before long, both were able to condense the rudimentary outline of their own spirit bows from Reishi.
All that remained was to use Heilig Pfeil to kill a Hollow—
and they would formally become Quincy.
That said…
the embryonic form of Tsuna's spirit bow seemed to be turning out rather differently from what he had originally imagined.
=====================
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